I suppose the success of this approach would vary by the laws and traditions in various countries, but it seems very risky to me. Insurance companies investigate all big claims, and routinely deny coverage to their clients, based on _their_ conclusions about whether the terms of the insurance agreement have been honored. Calling a loadbearing strawbale building a "timber-frame" might convince a company to sell you an insurance policy, but that doesn't mean you would actually have any insurance coverage, in the case of a fire or other large insurance claim. If the insurance company denies a claim, the owner must take legal action to try and force them to pay. That implies convincing a third (fourth, fifth) party that the terms of the insurance policy have been followed. I think that would be very tough, in the scenario that Andrew describes. It seems to me that this approach allows the home owner to pay insurance premiums for no actual coverage. Maybe some owners would be comfortable with this, if the presence of an insurance policy allows them to get a mortgage. However, to pay insurance premiums for some number of years, when the insurance company is unlikely to pay a claim, seems imprudent to me. Worse, both the insurance company and the company that issues the mortgage would seem to have solid ground for suing the homeowner for fraud, in the event that the house was lost, and the insurance company had been misled about the nature of construction. Instead of endorsing Chug's enthusiastic slogan of "Bale on", there is a significant risk that insurance and mortgage companies will have a strong reaction of "Bale NO". Derek Derek Roff Language Learning Center Ortega Hall 129, MSC03-2100 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 505/277-7368, fax 505/277-3885 Internet: derek@unm... >> Chug, No; as a description of load bearing method as insurance companies are nervous about straw as a load bearing building material. This is not actually that much of a stretch of the imagination as assuming you are using a wooden base and wall plate with integral wooden posts for door and window openings, then this timber is doing some structural work. regards Andrew __________________________________________________ From: Chug <chug@strawbale-building....uk> To: European strawbale building discussions <strawbale@amper....muni.cz> Sent: Fri, 9 July, 2010 13:09:39 Subject: Re: [Strawbale] Mortgages on SB houses in the UK Andrew, I take it you mean as a description for post and beam and not loadbearing as you wrote? and Neale I thought you were asking about experience in selling a SB house, but if it's just a mortgage you are looking for Ecology BS as mentioned, and Virgin, and Triodos, but I don't think they will go up to 100%, although I think they could be persuaded. bale on Chug chug@strawbale-building....uk http://www.strawbale-building.co.uk . ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Wilkinson" <wilkospeak@yahoo....uk> To: "European strawbale building discussions" <strawbale@amper....muni.cz> Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 12:25 PM Subject: Re: [Strawbale] Mortgages on SB houses in the UK Neale, I am currently working on two newbuilds in Yorkshire. Whilst I don't have any direct experience of Open Market sales, I am aware that a main financier of such mortgages would be the Ecology Building Society. I am also aware that in the recent past , those seeking to insure their houses have referred to straw bale load bearing houses as "timber frame with cellulose insulation" to overcome insurance company concerns. regards Andrew ________________________________ From: Neale Brickwood <neale.brickwood@googlemail...> To: Strawbale@amper....muni.cz Sent: Fri, 9 July, 2010 13:21:12 Subject: [Strawbale] Mortgages on SB houses in the UK Hi I'm researching SB housing in the UK and am trying to find out if any have been built for sale on the open market and if so what the purchasers experiences were in mortgaging the property and who the lenders were If anyone can help it would be much appreciated Regards Neale neale.brickwood@googlemail... 07798854867 www.ikonland.com Ikon Land and New Homes Limited The coach House 2 hereford Road Southsea Portsmouth PO5 2DH ____________________________________________________ European strawbale building discussion list Send all messages to: Strawbale@amper....muni.cz Archives, subscription options, etc: http://amper.ped.muni.cz/mailman/listinfo/strawbale ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ European strawbale building discussion list Send all messages to: Strawbale@amper....muni.cz Archives, subscription options, etc: http://amper.ped.muni.cz/mailman/listinfo/strawbale ____________________________________________________